CS 336/621: Computer Networks and Network Programming (Spring 2009)

Tues-Thurs 7:30pm-9:15pm (Room HRN-235)

Instructor: Allan Cruse
cruse@usfca.edu
Phone: (415) 422-6562
Office: 212 Harney Science Center
Office Hours: (see my homepage)

Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand.

-- ancient Chinese proverb

Synopsis:

This course combines an exposition of computer networking principles
with network programming exercises and experiments, taking advantage
of the Department's recently installed equipment in our CS Labs and in
the Michael D. Kudlick interactive computer classroom (Harney-235).
These facilities include remote access from off-campus to a cluster of
sixteen Core-2 Duo servers, each equipped with two Intel Pro1000
gigabit-Ethernet controllers, one of which is dedicated to supporting
a private Local Area Network for doing course-experiments. A similar
but separate private LAN interconnects the Kudlick classroom's thirty
Core-2 Quad workstations, allowing lecture-demonstrations to be done
in class without affecting any network experiments in progress on the
server-cluster.

Topics appropriate to this course's goals include:
- Contemporary uses of computer networks and the Internet
- Physical and architectural network elements
- Conventional "layered" models of networking
- Communication protocols and associated algorithms
- Local Area and Wide Area networks
- The ubiquitous TCP/IP protocol suite
- The Client/Server programming paradigm
- Berkeley 'sockets' application programming interface
- Issues of performance and network security

This course is open to upper-division computer science majors and to
USF computer science graduate students. This course assumes that
students are familiar with Linux or UNIX, and with programming in the
C/C++/Python environments. (The specific course-preparation that is
recommended includes: CS 110/112 and CS 245, or the equivalent
preparation at another university.)

Textbook:

Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (4th Edition)

Learning Outcomes:

You will be introduced to the physical and logical organization of the Internet
You will be acquainted with major internet applications and transport protocols
You will know the functions of hubs, switches, bridges, routers, and firewalls
You will understand the functional layering of network software architectures
You will be able to write your own socket-based network application programs
You will gain experience with using software tools for network troubleshooting

Resources

Textbook authors' companion website: student resources
The classic C language tutorial textbook and reference guide by Kernighan and Ritchie
Online guide to Popular Errno Codes by Platform compiled by Michael B. Allen
Wikipedia article about The Linux Documentation Project
Online article: What is the difference between an Ethernet hub and switch? by DUX Computer Digest
Online documentation: socket -- Low-level networking interface for the Python language
Online function-summary for Sockets APIs at IBM iSeries Information Center
Online documentation: Structure of the IP Datagram, by Rhys Haden, Data Network Resource
Wikipedia articles about the traceroute utility and the Internet Control Message Protocol
Online article: Be careful with the sendmsg() family of functions, by Mark A. Smith, IBM Almaden Research Center
Online demonstration: The TCP Sliding Window algorithm by RAD Data Communications, LTD.
Online introduction to Multicast over TCP/IP HOWTO, by Juan-Mariano de Goyeneche
Lively exposition of MBONE, the Multicast BackbONE, by M. Macedonia and D. Brutzman, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey
Online article: Distance Education Using Linux and the MBone, by K. Davis, T. Miller and C. Price, Linux Journal (2000)
Homepage for the LXR (Linux Cross-Reference) Project, a tool for browsing and searching the kernel source files
Online article: NIST Internet Time Service (ITS) explaining network protocols for obtaining the current time
Official Internet Engineering Task Force standard: RFC868 - Time Protocol, by J. Postel and K. Harrenstien (1983)
Notes on the rules for leap year from Dr. Robert Alan Wolf (USF mathematics department)
Intel PCI-express Gigabit Ethernet controllers Open Source Software Developer's Manual (.pdf format)

Readings

For Tue, Jan 27: Kurose and Ross:
- 1.1 What is the Internet?
For Thu, Jan 29: Kurose and Ross:
- 1.2 The Network Edge
- 1.3 The Network Core
For Tue, Feb 03: Kurose and Ross:
- 1.4 Delay, Loss, and Throughput in Packet-Switched Networks
- 1.5 Protocol Layers and their Service Models
For Thu, Feb 05: Kurose and Ross:
- 1.6 Networks Under Attack
- 1.7 History of Computer Networking and the Internet
For Tue, Feb 10: Kurose and Ross:
- 2.1 Principles of Network Applications
For Thu, Feb 12: Kurose and Ross:
- 2.2 The Web and HTTP
- 2.3 File Transfer: FTP
For Tue, Feb 17: Kurose and Ross:
- 2.4 Electronic Mail in the Internet
- 2.5 DNS--The Internet's Directory Service
For Thu, Feb 19: Kurose and Ross:
- 2.6 Peer-to-Peer Applications
For Tue, Feb 24: Kurose and Ross:
- 2.7 Socket Programming with TCP
For Thu, Feb 26: Kurose and Ross:
- 2.8 Socket Programming with UDP
For Tue, Mar 03:
- No new reading assignment; review for Midterm I
For Thu, Mar 05: Kurose and Ross:
- 3.1 Intriduction and Transport-Layer Services
- 3.2 Multiplexing and Demultiplexing
For Tue, Mar 10: Kurose and Ross:
- 3.3 Connectionless Transport: UDP
- 3.4 Principles of Reliable Data Transfer
For Thu, Mar 12: Kurose and Ross:
- 3.5 Connection-Oriented Transport: TCP
For Tue, Mar 17: Kurose and Ross:
- 3.6 Principles of Congestion Control
For Thu, Mar 19: Kurose and Ross:
- 3.7 TCP Congestion Control
- 3.8 Summary
For Tue, Mar 31: Kurose and Ross:
- 4.1 Introduction
- 4.2 Virtual Circuit and Datagram Networks
- 4.3 What's inside a Router?
For Thu, Apr 02: Kurose and Ross:
- No new reading assignment; review for Midterm II
For Tue, Apr 07: Kurose and Ross:
- 4.4 The Internet Protocol (IP): Forwarding and Addressing
For Tue, Apr 14: Kurose and Ross:
- 4.5 Routing Algorithms
For Thu, Apr 16: Kurose and Ross:
- 4.6 Routing in the Internet
For Tue, Apr 21: Kurose and Ross:
- 4.7 Broadcast and Multicast Routing
For Thu, Apr 23: Kurose and Ross:
- 5.1 Link Layer: Introduction and Services
- 5.2 Error-Detection and -Correction Techniques
For Tue, Apr 28: Kurose and Ross:
- 5.3 Multiple Access Protocols
For Thu, Apr 30: Kurose and Ross:
- 5.4 Link-Layer Addressing
- 5.5 Ethernet
For Tue, May 05: Kurose and Ross:
- 5.6 Link-Layer Switches
- 5.7 PPP: The Point-to-Point Protocol
For Thu, May 07: Kurose and Ross:
- 5.8 Link Virtualization: A Network as a Link Layer
- 5.9 Summary
For Tue, May 12: Kurose and Ross:
- No new reading assignment; review for Final Exam

Systems Software

Utility program: ljpages.cpp (a tool that submits your program source to a laser printer)
Utility program: dump.cpp (a tool that displays the contents of any file in hex and ascii)
Utility program: fileview.cpp (a navigation tool for viewing the contents of binary files)
Utility program: nicwatch.cpp (for monitoring the network traffic on a particular interface)
Device-driver: dram.c (used to allow reading from a workstation's physical memory)
Utility program: mmake.cpp (a tool for compiling our own Linux 2.6 kernel modules)
Utility program: newproc.cpp builds the skeleton for an LKM that creates a '/proc' file

Handouts

0203-210-01: Course syllabus (PDF)
lesson1.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: getquote.py to illustrate simple network sockets programming in the Python language
Demo program: iplookup.py showing how a Python program can obtain a remote station's IP-address
lesson2.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Utility program: nicwatch.cpp (for monitoring the network traffic on a particular interface)
lesson3.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Utility program: arpwatch.cpp continually reexecutes 'arp' to show a dynamic view of the ARP cache
Utility program: iplookup.cpp reimplements our similarly-named Python application, but here in C++
Demo program: getquote.cpp reimplements our similarly-named Python application, but here in C++
lesson4.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: bindtoif.cpp it uses 'write()' to a connected datagram socket with some socket options
lesson5.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo programs: udpserver.cpp and udpclient.cpp giving an initial look at the User Datagram Protocol
Demo program: tweakttl.cpp showing how you assign the 'Time-to-Live' field for an outgoing message
lesson6.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo programs: msgserver.cpp and msgclient.cpp showing the 'sendmsg()' and 'recvmsg()' functions
lesson7.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: telltime.cpp uses standard library functions to get host's time, date and network name
Demo program: triptime.cpp illustrates access to some 'ancilliary data' which is returned by 'recvmsg()'
lesson8.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: tweaktos.cpp allows a user to specify an outgoing datagram's 'Type-of-Service' value
Demo program: clonetos.cpp receives 'Type-of-Service' as ancillary data and transmits a reply in kind
lesson9.ppt (Powerpoint Slides) <-- a new slide was added on 02/25/2009
Demo programs: tcpserver.cpp and tcpclient.cpp giving an initial look at a stream-oriented connection
lesson10.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: sockbufs.cpp showing how to discover and modify the sizes of a TCP socket's buffers
Demo program: nanowait.cpp depicts programming syntax for implementing 'fine-grained' time-delays
Demo program: slowecho.cpp a TCP echo-server that inserts a timed-delay between character-sends
Demo program: peekdemo.cpp a client that lets us watch 'window-size' drop as new characters arrive
Some follow-up comments regarding the Linux 'nanosleep()' function from classmember Jasper Roel
lesson11.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: usenagle.cpp for examining the usual packet-sending behavior of a Linux TCP socket
Demo program: nodelay.cpp for examining packet-sending behavior using the TCP_NODELAY option
Demo program: corkdemo.cpp for examining packet-sending behavior using the TCP_CORK option
lesson12.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: tcpclient2.cpp revises our 'tcpclient.cpp' example, for demonstrating 'service-delays'
Demo program: tcpserver2.cpp revises our 'tcpserver.cpp' example, to overcome the 'service-delays'
Demo program: tcpserver3.cpp revises 'tcpserver2.cpp' so parent calls 'wait()' as soon as a child exits
lesson13.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: sixlinks.cpp a TCP client that quickly establishes multiple connections with its server
Demo program: tcpserver4.cpp revises 'tcpserver3.cpp' to avoid the 'race' that allows some 'zombies'
Demo program: tcpstress.cpp creates a rapid succession of separate connection-requests to a server
lesson14.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: grabfile.cpp our prototype for an HTTP client that can obtain a file-object from its URL
lesson15.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo programs: multisend.cpp and multirecv.cpp provides an example of 'IP-multicast' programming
Demo programs: multisend.py and multirecv.py provides an equivalent functionality, but using Python
lesson16.ppt (Powerpoint Slides) <-- a comment was added to slide 22 on 04/01/2009
Demo programs: multihop.cpp lets a user specify the default TTL-value in outgoing multicast packets
lesson17.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: statdemo.cpp illustrating the information a Linux system maintains on its file-objects
Demo program: mywebsvr.cpp showing how we can write a minimal iterative web server application
HTML example: mywebpage.html offers a simple webpage example for use in testing our webserver
JPEG example: warrior.jpg provides an image-file we can use for our in-class programming exercise
lesson18.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: utcdemo.cpp illustrates use of the standard 'Time Protocol' as described in RFC-868
lesson19.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Utility program: pciprobe.cpp exhibits VENDOR-ID, DEVICE-ID, and CLASS-CODE for PCI devices
Demo program: 82573pci.cpp displays register-values in our 82573L NIC's PCI Configuration Space
lesson20.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: seeflags.cpp shows how 'inline' assembly language lets us see the RFLAGS register
Kernel module: iokludge.c provides us a 'workaround' for Linux restrictions on executing 'in' and 'out'
Demo program: tryiopl3.cpp confirms that we can modily the IOPL field in RFLAGS with 'iokludge.ko'
lesson21.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Kernel module: mem64.c offers a 'visualization' of a task's virtual memory use for the 64-bit platform
Kernel module: nicstatus.c creates a /proc file letting users see our nic's 'DEVICE STATUS' register
Kernel module: 82573.c lets users view our NIC's PCI Configuration Space, plus its device registers
lesson22.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Kernel module: nictx.c showing the minimum steps needed to program our nic's hardware to transmit
lesson23.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Kernel module: nicrx.c showing the minimum steps needed to program our nic's hardware to receive
lesson24.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Kernel module: nic.c adds 'write()' and 'read()' methods, plus an interrupt-handler, to our earlier code
lesson25.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Kernel module: nicf.c adds 'ioctl()' to our 'nic.c' driver (so applications can set a packet's destination)
Database file: ethers for translating hostnames to Ethernet-addresse on our 82573L-equipped hosts
Demo program: sendto.cpp uses 'ethers' database to send a test-message ONLY to a specified host
lesson26.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Demo program: arpdemo.cpp uses our 'nicraw.c' character device-driver to transmit an ARP Request <-- revised on 05/13/2009
lesson27.ppt (Powerpoint Slides)
Kernel module: nicraw.c modifies our earlier 'nicf.c' device-driver to support transfers of 'raw' packets
Exam exercise: timedemo.cpp network application with several 'bugs' that you need to find -- and fix!

Announcements

Enrolled students may join the class mailing-list here
Midterm Exam 1: Tuesday, March 3
project1: Due 7:30pm Tuesday, 10 March 2009
No class meetings: March 23-27 (Spring vacation)
Midterm Exam 2: Thursday, April 2
project2: Due 7:30pm Tuesday, 07 April 2009
No class meeting: April 9 (Holy Day recess)
FINAL EXAMINATION: Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 7:30pm

Last updated on 05/19/2009